Highlights of General Budget 2008-08

New Delhi, Feb 29 (ANI): Following are the key points of Union Budget 2008-09 tabled by P Chidambaram Revenue Deficit will be 1.4 per cent Budget Estimate of 1.5 per cent Planning Commission to evaluate major schemes Sixth central pay commission to submit report by March Rs 50 cr grant for Natl Tiger Conservation Authority Rs 75 cr to ICCR for cultural development Defence allocation hiked by 10% to Rs 1,05,600 cr Rs 32,676 crore as subsidy to Public Distribution System (PDS) Smart-card based PDS system in Haryana, Chandigarh Allocation of Rs 44 cr to 22 Sainik schools each Rs 75 cr to Agri Ministry for soil testing labs in 250 districts Rs 15,000 cr for non-profit body for skilled dev programme Launch a world-class skilled development programme Permanent Account Number (PAN) requirement for all securities transactions Plan to start a forex derivative market More transparency in the derivative market Risk Capital Fund to be set up in Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) National Highway Dev programme gets Rs 12,966 cr Accelerated power development programmes to get Rs 8,000 cr Ultra mega power project at Tilana shortly Rs 12,956 Cr for National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Banks to be encouraged to embrace total financial inclusion Foreign investment up to 8 billion dollars expected for oil block exploration Coal regulator to be set up 17 lakh families of weavers under Health Insurance State data centres scheme approved and get Rs 275 cr 1 lakh broadband-enabled common service centres in villages Enhance allocation of NHDP programme Rs 800 cr for power reforms Manufacturing growth rate to be taken to double digit Rural Infrastructure Development Fund ( RIDF) corpus to be hiked to Rs 14,000 cr Total estimate of loans being waived is Rs 50,000 cr Implementation of debt waiver scheme to end by June 30 Implementation of debt waiver scheme to end by June 30 Waiver amounts to 4 per cent of total bank loans Rescheduled farm loans eligible for waiver Marginal, small farmers to get full waiver on all loans 500 soil testing labs to be set up in the country Scheme of debt waiver and debt relief for farmers Allocation for National Rural Health Mission ( NRHM) increased to Rs 12,050 cr National Horticulture Mission gets Rs 1,100 cr Weather-based crop insurance scheme to get Rs 50 cr Rs 20,000 cr for irrigation projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) Special grant of Rs 20 cr to Tea Research Association Rs 500 cr to be allocated for micro irrigation schemes More funds for cardamom, coffee growing Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to get Rs 2,80,000 cr 53 minor irrigation programmes to be implemented Target of Rs 2.80 lakh cr for agri-credit in 2008-09 Ministry of Woman and Child Development gets Rs 7,200 cr 24% increase in allocation for child development Rs 500 cr for development of border areas Rs 1,042 cr for anti-Polio drive Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission to get Rs 6,865cr Growth of agri-credit impressive Allocation for Integrated Child Development Services increased to Rs 6,300 cr Minority Affairs Ministry fund doubled to Rs 1,000 cr 288 Public Sector Banks (PSU) bank branches in minority districts Rs 540 cr for development plan for minority districts Rs 500 cr for corpus fund to subsidize all women Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to cover all women Self-help Groups linked to banks Rs 12,050 cr for strengthening rural health services Sanitation programmes to get Rs 1200 cr More minority recruitments in central para-military forces PSU allocation hiked to Rs 6,300 cr Rs 300 cr for desalination plant near Chennai Rs 75 cr for Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme National Handicap Development Corp to get Rs 9 cr National Minorities Development Corp to get Rs 75 cr Rs 75 cr for Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme National Handicap Development Corp to get Rs 9 cr National Minorities Development Corp to get Rs 75 cr Allocation for NE schemes up from 14,365 cr to 16,400 cr Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water mission allocation hiked The National Rural Employment Guarantee ( NREG) scheme to be rolled out in 596 districts National Rural Health Mission allocation hiked by 15% Remuneration of Anganwadi helpers hiked to Rs 750 Remuneration of Anganwadi workers hiked to Rs 1,500 National Programme for the Elderly to be set up Rs 30,000 health cover for every worker in unorganised sector 2 schools of Planning and Architecture Secondary education Scheme Rs 4,554 crore Rs 100 cr to Ministry of Science and tech for National Knowledge Network

All knowledge bodies to be connected via broadband Rs 85 crore to building a knowledge society Scholarships for science and research Education and Health allocation up 20 per cent

Govt, RBI to jointly work to check capital inflow Govt will monitor foreign fund inflow Check foreign inflow to stabilise Indian markets Capital Inflow needs to be managed more actively Agriculture credit doubled in first 2 years of UPA rule Global markets are weak Inflation will be checked Sustained progress thanks to economic reforms Launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna All time record for food grain output in 2007 Total output of food grains 219.32 mn tonnes We must be vigilant for downside risk Crude oil down significantly Agriculture was disappointing Capital inflow poses a challenge to monetary management Capital inflow poses a challenge to monetary management Growth rate is 8.8 per cent Service sector is the driver of Budget Since Aug 2007 financial economies witnessed turmoil 2007-08 has been a challenging year (ANI)